It’s game day in Southern California – or SoCal as the hip and informed call it – which means we have a lot of items related to Washington State’s battle with UCLA in the Rose Bowl. Well, maybe a lot is stretching it. Read on.

It’s late, I know, but that’s what happens when you have to catch a couple early flights to Los Angeles. Whoever scheduled both Washington State and UW in Los Angeles the same weekend probably got a little kickback from Alaska Airlines. Anyhow, we have our morning post, so read on.

By definition this isn’t an Indian summer, because we never really had a freeze. But it is summer in early fall, which might be the best time of the year in the Palouse. The days are warm, the nights cool and football is being played. Pretty much Camelot without the singing. Anyhow, we have Washington State news and notes, plus our usual collection of morning links, so read on.

Being without a computer for a day is like being without your hair – no, I’m used to that. So it’s more like making do without your brain, and all evidence to the contrary, I’m not used to that. Yesterday was hard, almost like withdrawing from caffeine or something, with the headaches included. But I got it back now, all fixed up and loaded with memories, so we’re able to get back to doing what we do best, filling your mind with way too many words and links, so read on.

• UPDATE: The Pac-10 announced the FSN portion of the basketball schedule this morning and Washington State is assured of at least six appearances on the network. The non-conference home games against Kansas State (Dec. 3) and Gonzaga (Dec. 8) will be broadcast by FSN, along with conference games at UCLA (Dec. 29), Washington (Jan. 30), at Arizona (Feb. 17) and at Washington (Feb. 27). And two games from the Diamond Head Classic will be on an ESPN channel. There should be more games on TV, of course. But that’s for later.

We’re having some Internet problems at Casa Grippi, so the usual (virtual) trip around the West Coast is taking almost as long as a real one. So our morning post is not going to be filled with as many nuggets as usual. What the heck, it’s Monday, so you can’t see anyway. The eyes are too bloodshot. We’ll just run the post in bigger type, it will seem as long and you’ll thank us tomorrow. Read on.

Get a cup of coffee. Grab a Danish. Strap yourself to your chair. There’s a lot to cover this morning, and we’re not just talking about the rest of the Pac-10. We’re talking about Washington State’s debacle yesterday against USC and the rest of the conference season. It’s all on the link, so read on.

Early in the week, it was hard to see this one coming. But as the day dawned today it finally hit me that Washington State was playing a team with a bunch of horses up front, horses that haven’t played all that well. Well they did today, and WSU’s defenders just didn’t tackle worth dog spit. Which adds up to a 50-16 blitz. We have a couple more things on the link, so read on.

A quick halftime post, with WSU trailing USC 28-13. The Trojans have 312 yards of total offense in the first half despite trailing by 5 minutes in time of possession. USC has 11 plays of more than 10 yards. The Cougars are moving the ball through the air – 171 passing yards – but Jeff Tuel’s three interceptions – one a pick six – have killed them. USC has 14 points off the turnovers and leads by 15. To be fair, WSU has seven points following Barkley’s interceptions. We’ll be back afterward, but you can follow us at vinceg55 on Twitter. Use this post for comments.

It’s your typical Saturday morning with one huge exception. It’s typical in that there are enough previews, notebooks and features available from around the conference to keep you busy until game time. It’s atypical because the Washington State game time is noon, so you have to rush to plow your way through everything. So get right to it and read on.

You know, even though the last six months haven’t been kind to the University of Southern California football program, in a lot of ways USC is still USC. There is a cachet to the name, a ring to it. Say it just right and images of O.J. weaving through the UCLA defense, Sam Cunningham jumping over Alabama, Ricky Bell in the Kingdome, Marcus Allen playing fullback, Carson Palmer’s bullets, Reggie Bush, Rey Maualuga still dance in the memory. That’s what makes this weekend so much fun. What will Saturday’s game be like? In a little more than 24 hours, everyone will find out. Read on.

Washington State is off the field from Thursday’s practice, a workout held in a steady drizzle. But as one of the coaches said afterward, it was the best Thursday of the year. There’s more on the link, so read on.

The hitting at practice is over for another week as Washington State will spend the next couple days fine-tuning the game plan for Southern California on Saturday. It’s a game that should be quite a bit different than the one between the schools here two years ago. Read on for more.

As the time winds down to Saturday’s home game with USC, the Washington State Cougars put together a spirited practice Wednesday, staying on the practice field about 20 minutes shorter than the previous day. For what they accomplished, read on.

Every Wednesday morning is like this. A day with so many stories to read, the eyes start hurting before 8 a.m. Today is no different. More crowded, actually, with the news yesterday afternoon Colorado was able to play a $6.863 million get out of jail card. We have it all, so read on.

Each Tuesday afternoon, Paul Wulff holds a press conference in which he looks forward to the next opponent, in this case USC. The Trojans will be in Martin Stadium on Saturday (noon; FS Northwest) for the first time since the 69-0 shellacking in 2008. And the first time without Pete Carroll in a long, long time. We have a summary of what Wulff had to say, along with his comments on the earlier Pac-10 call, on the link, so read on.

Do you have a day of the week at work that is always longer and more demanding than the rest? A day you start dreading at 3 the day before? A day that seems to drag on and on? A day that, when it’s over, it seems like a steel door is slamming shut behind you and you’re free? If you answered yes to those questions, I feel your pain. Read on.

It’s your typical Monday morning in cyberspace (and I learned this weekend where that term came from, which is cool; life should be a continuing education class each day) with some folks looking back at Saturday and others already looking ahead. We have some links and notes, along with an apology, on the next page, so read on.

This is a first for me. I am in the midst of joining the blogging world’s Mile-High Club. Hey, get your mind out of the gutter. I mean I’m blogging from the Alaska flight from Dallas to Seattle. With a 7:15 departure time and a midnight bedtime, there was no way I was getting up early enough to blog before we left Dallas. So we’re up in the air. Just like Saturday’s Washington State’s game was at halftime. But not after the third quarter. For more on that, and an up-and-down day for the Pac-10, read on.